13 December 2011

Mikhail Prokhorov Running for President of Russia?

So you have probably heard that the owner of the New Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn) Nets, the Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, announced he is running for President of Russia against, among other candidates, Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin. So what does this announcement mean for the Nets?This will not be just your average quixotic Presidential campaign by any ol' candidate. In the wake of massive protests throughout Russia against alleged fraud in parliamentary elections widely thought to be orchestrated by Putin and his party. Prokhorov is young and has so much cash, a cool $18 billion, that he can by himself fund a top-level campaign against the increasingly unpopular Putin. There's a good possibility Prokhorov could actually win, which would be a major triumph for billionaire playboys worldwide. And one thing that Prokhorov has in advantage over Putin is that he does not have a propensity for stealing Super Bowl rings.But in regards to the Nets, it would be interesting how Prokhorov would juggle being President of the largest county on the globe in size as well as an owner of an NBA club, one about to move into a sparkling new arena in Brooklyn. If we were to win, I can't imagine how he would be hands-on as an owner but that may not be a bad thing. But it is just so odd that an owner of a major sports franchise is running for President of a major country not the United States. Or at least to me it is. And he does have Anthony Morrow's support:

I can tell he is one of those guys who walks into a room and has this presence about him, a tall guy. He’s a good dude. Any conversation I’ve had with him, he’s been cool.